There are more men than women with mathematically intensive careers as a result of the choices made by women. This is according to a recent article posted on Math in the News titled Most Women Say No to Working in STEM. The article states that rather than discrimination keeping women from having Science/Technology/Engineering/Mathematics (STEM) jobs, many women simply opt-out of working in a mathematically intensive field. According to a study, while about half of the math undergraduates are women, only about 27% of those with PhD’s in math are female, and fewer still are professors. The article gave a possible reason for this.

Aside from simply choosing to study something outside of the STEM fields, many women still choose to stay home and raise a family rather than pursue their career. As a result, young female math professors are less likely to work towards tenure than their male counterparts. Furthermore, women are more likely to relocate to accommodate their partner’s work. The article concludes that perhaps more should be done by universities to support women (and men) playing a care-taking role.